Silence and Kisses
by Hoshiko11
Summary: Merleawe is losing confidence after taking her post as the new Master Wizard. And why is Vaith ignoring her? First fanfic, rated T to be safe!
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Magical X Miracle or any of its characters.**

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Merleawe sat with her hands rested lightly on her crossed legs. She sighed, staring at the cold grey stone before her. There were far too many headstones around, far too many deaths. She stood and brushed her hand along the monument built in Sylthfarn's honour. He had protected the people of Viegald, and now this task fell to her.

A month had passed since Merleawe had made the decision to offer her services as Master Wizard, but she seemed to be losing confidence rather than gaining it. She truly wanted to protect everyone; she loved not only the people in Viegald, but the city itself as well. But as time passed, she realized the enormity of her task. Everywhere she went, people swarmed her, wanting to hold her hand or kiss her cheek. Some people she had considered friends now saw her as somebody too important to associate with them.

Even in the palace, she often became lonely. Yue spent all of his free time with general Lenolora, who was here with Princess Fia Luka to negotiate fine details in the alliance between Caldia and Viegald. These negotiations also took up all of Princess — no, it was Queen, now — Seraphia's time. Merleawe saw them only when she took part in the negotiations, but she longed to talk casually with them.

She had repeatedly knocked on Glenn's door, thinking that they could sit down, have tea, and he could sooth Merleawe's feelings of insecurity. But Glenn was traveling through the countryside, bringing medicine to places without it. Merleawe missed her friend dearly. Without any idea of when he might return, she was forced simply to wait.

She chided herself for being so selfish. Her friends were trying to help others. She should only think about doing the same. At least she had Fern with her. She didn't dare to talk about her troubles with him, as she didn't want to burden him with them. But he did provide company while she signed papers, practiced magic, and walked around town. He patted her shoulder when people in town openly gaped at her. She even saw Lecto around from time to time, and he always had a friendly greeting for her.

A tear fought to escape her eye, and she blinked rapidly to try to quell to urge to cry. Who was she kidding? She could tell herself that she was fine with her friends doing their work, but it was a lie. She wanted them to spend time together like in the past. And Vaith…..

No, she couldn't think of Vaith. She refused to. She stood quickly and turned towards the palace. Fern would be looking for her if she didn't return soon. Crying over Vaith wouldn't help. She was sure it was his duties as captain of the Black Knights that was keeping him from talking to her. Merleawe hadn't even met eyes with him since the night she had decided to become the Master Wizard. She refused to admit to herself that it was his absence that hurt the most.

Merleawe turned the corner and almost jumped from shock. Some Black Knights were walking towards her, still in their uniforms! She couldn't turn around now, it was too late.

And there he was. The sight of Vaith confirmed what she had tried to deny. She wanted to reach out and touch him; wanted to hold his hand and laugh with him. She wanted to touch her lips to his and….

She froze, and he looked up. Then his eyes widened.

"Good morning, Master Wizard," his companions said with a smile and a slight bow. And then Vaith spoke.

"Good morning, Merleawe," he said, also bowing slightly. And then he continued walking. What? That was it? Merleawe felt like she could collapse into a fit of tears where she stood. But that was sure to raise questions about the health of the new master wizard. No, she had gone without seeing him when she was traveling, this could be like those times. Except….

"Vaith, wait!" she burst out suddenly. She held her breath, afraid he would keep walking. But no, he stopped at the first sound of her voice. He slowly turned. The smile on his face looked fake. It was this that finally set her off, "You JERK! What did I do to you; why can't you kook at me?" she screamed at him.

"Merleawe," he no longer had a fake smile plastered to his face. He seemed to think for a second. Then he said something to the Black Knights with him, and walked back towards her. His companions walked the other way.

A tear slid down Merleawe's cheek. "I'm so mad at you!" she yelled, and another tear chased the first. Vaith looked like he might cry, too. That was silly, she thought. She had done nothing to him.

"Merleawe, I can't…" he paused. He looked like he might stop, might turn and walk away from her. She grabbed his jacket, "Surely you know why I've been avoiding you," he whispered.

"Are you JOKING?" Merleawe was furious now," I'm crying, wondering why you haven't been speaking to me, and you expect me to just KNOW?"

He looked at her like she was being silly, "Merleawe, surely you know that part of the discussions between Her Highness Seraphia and Princess Fia Luka have included the fiancée of the Master Wizard. Tying someone to you with an engagement would be a great political move!" he exclaimed.

Merleawe was furious, "I haven't heard anything of the like," she fumed, "and I really don't think that Seraphia would do anything like that without asking me; I trust her! Even if something like that did come up, I would refuse!" she blushed. "I want to marry someone for love, not some political agenda! Besides, why should that make you stay away anyway?"

Vaith stared at her. His eyes burned with an emotion Merleawe couldn't place. "I –" he began. But he couldn't seem to find a reason to say. Merleawe stared back at him. And then a crazy thought came to her.

"You aren't… In love with me or something, are you?" She asked. Vaith looked down at his feet, his mouth in a firm line. He didn't seem to want to respond. "You idiot," Merleawe almost laughed, "do you know how long I've had a crush on you?"

Vaith looked up at her, seeming to check if she was telling the truth. She took a step towards him, but he moved much faster than her. He scooped her up in his arms and held her close to his chest.

"Still flat-chested?" He said, and finally smiled a true smile at her. Merleawe swung at him, but he dodged. Her face was very close to his. She leaned in, putting her face even closer, but.. "Not here," he whispered in her ear, "the Master Wizard can't start gossip like that." And he put her down.


	2. Chapter 2

Merleawe used the walk home to tell Vaith how she missed her friends and, most of all, him. She clasped his hand tightly and had trouble looking in front of her; she wanted to keep looking into his eyes. He also glanced down at her frequently. At one point he looked up just in time to see he had almost tripped over a tall wagon.

"Merleawe," he said, his voice now sounding like it caressed the name, "I'm sure everyone misses you, too! Don't you think maybe they've been giving you space to get started? You're a very important person, now!"

"But," she realized she sounded slightly exasperated and tried to calm her voice, "I'm still the same person I was before, too." Vaith took her hand and raised it to his lips, smiling brightly at her.

And, of course, it had to be at that moment that they heard an outburst of some sort coming from their left. They had made their way into a street lined with stores, more than halfway to the castle. Two men appeared to have stolen something from a store and the owner of the store had grabbed one of them, yelling at the other. The man he had a hold of was wearing a Black Knights uniform.

"Oh, no," Vaith groaned. He turned to Merleawe.

"I know," she sighed, "you have to deal with this, right?"

"Yes, I'm so sorry. I want to stay with you, but — " suddenly, he smiled, "I know! Meet me where you used to have your magic lessons with Yue tonight when it gets dark. No earlier, though! Come down right when the sun has fully set." She nodded, and he ran off.

Merleawe suddenly felt brave. She turned and walked quickly, head held high. She was going to visit Louie, and tell her to stop being ridiculous. She bought a scarf at a store along the way and tucked her silver hair inside of it to stop people in the streets from approaching her with requests, or simply looking at her with awe.

She arrived at Louie's door and knocked loudly. Someone inside yelled, "Just a second!" and Merleawe heard footsteps on the stairs. A young man about her own age opened the door, "Can I help you?" he asked.

"I was looking for Louie — " she started.

"Oh, I'm sorry, she stepped out for a bit of shopping, should I tell her you were looking for her, um.." he paused "Sorry, may I ask who you are?"

"I'll just have to come back another day," Merleawe tugged at her scarf and looked down, "um, no need to tell her I was here. I'll just… Surprise her a different time." And with that she turned and left, running back to the castle. She wasn't sure if she would have the confidence to go up to Louie's house another time, but at least she had tried it one more time.

Sundown seemed to approach slower than it ever had before. Merleawe wandered around the city as long as she could with the scarf wrapped around her head. Then she returned to the castle and practiced her magic. She had practiced for at least a short while since her first time living in the castle, and she felt it was more important ever now that she was the Master Wizard. She grinned as she thought to herself that anyone who thought it was easy to get this position was sorely wrong.

Finally, she could no longer see the sun from her window. She looked down at her clothes, dusty from the wind spells she had been using, and walked quickly to her closet. She withdrew a light purple dress, flattering to her shape as well as her hair and eyes. She smiled to herself, remembering how Vaith had once mistaken her for Sylthfarn. Nobody would make that mistake now!

The stairs leading down to Merleawe's old place of learning were dark. She held a magical flame before her, lighting the way. She had thought it would be hard to evade Fern's following her, but he had been curiously absent when she left her room. She placed a hand against the wall, and recoiled quickly when she felt dust collecting on her fingertips. Finally, she reached the bottom of the stairs and looked at the door before her. She held her breath and opened it.

"SURPRISE!" Merleawe gasped, shocked. All of her friends were here! A cake sat on the table where she had studied so long ago, and everyone she had missed so dearly beamed at her. Fern approached first.

"Sorry I've been so distant with you," he said, looking at his feet, "we were all trying to get everything settled with Caldia as quickly as possible, so we could have this congratulations party for you! Congratulations on becoming the Master Wizard!" He looked up and beamed at her, and Merleawe reached forward to squeeze him in a tight embrace. Fern blushed scarlet.

Yue coughed slightly, trying to get her attention, "We wanted to avoid giving you any more trouble, so we decided to do these trivial things ourselves. You already saved Viegald by stepping up last month. Everything that remained was simply politics." Merleawe stepped over to him and hugged him as well. She then hugged Lenolora, who was smiling at her. Merleawe knew Lenolora had worked hard this past month, as well. She saw Yue reach for Lenolora's hand and smiled.

Seraphia walked up to her next and hugged her, "I'm sorry we've spent so little time together, please come over for tea whenever now that we are in a country full of peace!" Merleawe nodded her agreement and Seraphia continued, "Princess Fia Luka also sends her regards and wishes you the best of luck! You are well-liked by everyone you meet, Mel!"

"Se - Seraphia," Merleawe stammered slightly, "I, um, really don't wish to be in a political marriage —"

"Oh don't be silly!" Seraphia laughed, "I only said that to Vaith to try to get you two to stop being silly and admit your feelings to each other! I guess you bringing it up means it worked?" She winked at Merleawe, and Merleawe blushed.

She almost expected to see Glenn there, and was slightly sad that he wasn't. She was shocked by two additions to the crowd, though. One was her brother.

"I came to make sure you were doing well here in the city, Mel!" he said happily and smiled, "I'm considering staying for a bit, while I'm still young enough to travel!" he laughed and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm so glad you came to visit! You can stay in the castle, now. If you want, that is!" she kissed him on the cheek as well. And then she ran out of things to say. Because the girl standing next to Edel was the last one Merleawe had expected to see tonight.

"I'm so sorry I've been avoiding you," Louie said softly, her eyes shining maybe a bit too brightly, "Vaith found me while I was shopping today and said how lonely you'd been. I should have realized that you becoming the Master Wizard didn't mean that you suddenly hated the people you loved before! Forgive me?" a tear slid down Louie's cheek, and Merleawe grabbed her hands.

"Of course! Just as long as you plan to stay around now," Merleawe smiled at Louie and Louie smiled back.

"I plan to try to get work in the castle, actually! I'm living with a man who was Lecto's classmate years ago, so maybe that will help!" Louie said excitedly.

"Oh, I met him today! Are you — seeing him?" Merleawe asked. She didn't want to touch on the subject of Louie's tragic past love, but had always hoped the girl could find love again.

"Yes," Louie had a huge smile on her face, "he really is wonderful! Oh, I almost forgot! I have letters here for you from Lia, Yoshino and Tirika. None of them are in Viegald now, but they all heard about you becoming the Master Wizard and are all so proud. They miss the days of seeing the clumsy Mel at school!" Louie passed three brightly coloured envelopes to Merleawe, who accepted them eagerly. She would read them after she calmed down from the excitement of seeing everyone here. She noticed one more plain envelope sitting on the table.

"Who —" and then she recognized the elegant script in which her name was written on the front. Glenn!

"Glenn seems to have begun traveling with Francis," Yue said, judging by her warm smile that Merleawe had figured out who the letter was from. Merleawe opened this letter now and read silently:

_Dearest Mel,_

_I regret that I cannot be with you as you grow accustomed to your position as Master Wizard, but I am sure you are performing wonderfully. I met up with Francis shortly after beginning my journey, and we decided to travel and bring medicine to many towns in need. I estimate I will not be home for a year or so, and I will miss you dearly, but I will write to you as frequently as possible!_

_I have one request of you: please visit the orphaned children I used to care for every now and then. Children love you so, and I will miss them as well, while I am away._

_Francis has enclosed a small pouch of tea made of herbs we found here; he says it is some of the best he has ever had. He also says he wishes you the best and knows you will do well. I am very glad to know somebody as selfless and courageous as you, Merleawe, and I will rush to see you as soon as I return home._

_Best of luck in the coming months,_

_Glenn_

Mel smiled and held the small pouch up to her nose. She closed her eyes and imagined she was sitting at a table, drinking tea with Glenn and Francis. Of course Glenn wouldn't forget about her! She had been so silly recently. Her friends were wonderful.

Merleawe looked around the room for Vaith. Clearly, he had gathered everyone here. But he was nowhere to be found. "Where is Vaith?" She asked nobody in particular. She looked around and realized that everyone looked troubled by her question.

"He said he would be right back," said Fern, "He was called out by one of the Black Knights who said 'the soldier from earlier is causing a commotion.'" Merleawe remembered the man who had stolen something from a store earlier.

"Truthfully, he has been gone for quite a while now," Yue said, "but he may simply be talking to a prison guard. Let us have some of your congratulatory cake and then go to the prison if he still has not returned."


	3. Chapter 3

The air in the prisons was musty and stale, and the walls were bleak and grey. Yue, Fern and Merleawe's footsteps echoed slightly, but the sound was muffled by the dampness of the stones and the moss that grew along the walls. Merleawe looked for a guard, but there didn't seem to be anyone around. Then she saw a flash of colour against the stones in the corner. She walked over to the corner, where a guard was collapsed and bleeding.

Yue looked grim, "Fern, hold his head up and I will heal him as much as I can," he said, his voice sounding tight with what Merleawe knew was worry. The guard's head was bleeding, but she watched the wound slowly close under Yue's hands. Yue's eyes were shut, and his mouth was in a think line indicating his focus. When he seemed to be exhausted, his magic flickering, the guard's eyes flickered.

"Are you alright?" Merleawe exclaimed quickly, "Is Vaith alright? Where is he?" The guard's eyes focused and he jumped up, only to lean on Merleawe as he realized the extent of his injuries.

"Cap'n brought in someone in a Black Knights uniform, said 'e found 'im in the street stealin'," began the guard in a tired voice, "but, weird thing was, Cap'n said 'e didn' know the man; 'e wasn' one of the Knights." Merleawe gasped. She hadn't realized the man in the street had been a fake. "When we 'eard that, us guards did some investigatin', an' we finds out the man's on the run from Caldia, Fisner an' Tilber. All that, an' the guy's a mage. 'E killed the prince in Tilber five years back. No sooner'n we discovers this, 'e's gotten out of 'is cage. 'E's fightin' us an' the Cap'n who's came back to check up on 'im, and 'e's mighty strong, too. 'E used wind magic an' took out some of us, then took one o' the other guard's swords an' started fightin' with it. 'E knocked me back with a blast o' wind just as the Cap'n was backin' 'im up out that there door." He pointed to the door they had come from.

"Yue, please stay and heal as many guards as you can," Merleawe managed to say through the haze of worry and fear that had taken over her mind, "I'm going to find Vaith." She ran out where she had come in, now noticing that the floor was scuffed up: in indicator of the battle that had been fought. She followed the footprints and small scrapes from swords along the path into the main road. The Man must be running low on magic; there was no evidence of wind magic being used anywhere around her.

Merleawe ran to the street and saw a man picking vegetables from the ground and putting them into a cart. "Excuse me," she said to him, "did you see two people fighting here?"

"Sure did," he huffed, "less than an hour back, I'd say. Two people in Black Knights clothes, I figured they were training. They went and knocked my cart over on their way and didn't even stop to pick it up!" He pointed her in the direction they had gone. Vaith seemed to be chasing the other man down the road, overpowering him.

Merleawe stopped and asked a few other people where they had gone, until she reached the end of the big road and saw, down a small path, some broken trees and leaves that had been blown around. The man had used his wind magic down that path. She ran as fast as she could, hoping desperately to not be too late. Vaith might have the upper hand with his sword, but not with magic. Finally, she heard the clanging of swords against each other. She stepped around a tree just in time to see Vaith's sword sweep down and put a shallow cut in his attacker's arm. The man jumped back, threw his sword at Vaith, and used the moment he dodged to unleash a blast of wind on him. Vaith flew back, dangerously close to sharp rocks and a cliff behind him, and his sword went flying from his hand. Merleawe stepped forward.

"Vaith," she cried, "are you alright?"

"I've been better," he replied, wiping a small cut on his cheek and spitting out a bit of blood. His attacker picked up Vaith's sword and grinned, advancing on him. Merleawe quickly surrounded the man with a circle of fire, trapping him. She turned to walk to Vaith, but heard the "whoosh" of wind putting out her flames. The man approached her, holding Vaith's sword. He threw gusts of wind at her and she parried them, but he came closer and closer, brandishing the steel weapon before him. He even threw some other spells at her: attacking spells that were weaker than his wind magic but more deadly. She continued to parry them, hating to think that she may have to take his life.

He swung the sword at her, and she dodged and knocked it from his hand with her magic. She cast a quick spell that bound his hands while they were free. "Vaith!" she cried. He had gotten up and was retrieving his sword.

"Turn away, Merleawe," Vaith said sadly to her, "many countries would like this man's body, but he is a dangerous criminal alive." She heard steel sinking into flesh and shuddered, then turned back to Vaith.

"I was so worried about you!" she cried. Strange, instead of settling now that they were out of danger, her heart seemed to be speeding up.

"And I was worried, watching you!" Vaith exclaimed, walking toward her, "I was no help at all."

"That's not true! You fought him back all the way over here, and got him away from people he might have hurt!" She took a step toward him as well, and her heart rate increased so that it was throbbing. "Thank you, for gathering everyone together, by the way. You know exactly how to put me at ease. I haven't been happier than today in ages. I.. I love you!"

"I haven't either," Vaith said, closing the distance between them and cupping her cheek in his hand, "and I've loved you for so long."

He tipped her face up and pressed his lips to hers. Merleawe slid one arm over his shoulder and the other into his hair. He deepened the kiss, sucking on her lip, and slid his hands down her sides. Everywhere he touched tingled and seemed to burn. Too soon, he broke the kiss.

"We shouldn't.." he said.

"There's nobody here to judge the Master Wizard now" she said breathily, and drew him back in.

This kiss was more intense. He lifted her and sat her on a rack nearby, making her slightly taller than him. His hands continued to run along her sides, and her fingers worked his hair as their lips moved against each other, their breath coming hot and fast. She licked his lip lightly, and he caught his tongue with hers. Her need for Vaith made Merleawe nearly breathless, and she was sure if she was standing, she would collapse into a puddle. Vaith broke the kiss again, leaning his forehead against hers.

"We really should get back," he panted, "not that I want to stop you."

"You're right, everyone must be worried sick at this point," her voice sounded airy, and she wished they didn't have to stop. Vaith walked over and threw the corpse of the man that had caused him so much trouble over one shoulder. He took Merleawe's hand with his free hand.

"Don't worry," he smiled at her, "we have all the time in the world now!" And with that, he pecked her on the cheek and they started walking toward their future.

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**Thank you to anyone who read my story! I hope you enjoyed it! **

**I do not own Magical X Miracle or any of the characters in it.**


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